Rhet Comp, Monday, January 31, 2011

READ: 1. (For Wednesday) Read Pj O'Rourke's "Third World Driving Tips"

2. RF Chapts 3 - 5

WRITE: (for Wednesday) rewrite of Formal Essay #1

Was thinking about the Super Bowl...so reprinted a blog post from last year...enjoy!

Shame on CBS...Super Bowl Ads Stink of Agenda

This year, the Super Bowl WAS better than the commercials (recapped here). Much better.

The advertising winner was easily the 2nd one to broadc

ast after kickoff: The Betty White Snickers commercial.

Then there were a bunch of nearly literate commercials in which down-trodden thirty-somethings disclose the ugly truth of ealry adulthood. Like guy has baby and realizes he will never have a cool car. Guy has wife and realizes he will never again chase a hot girl. Guy has house and car and wife and baby...and cut to guy hanging from nearby oak tree. You get the point, right?


Isn't enough that Madison Avenue ad agency executives are sipping martinis and quipping about "skirts" during the working hours? Do they have to rub Joe Middle Class' misery into our own, weary faces? All of these commercials, designed to seel soap or cars or candy, are just lovely reminders that most of us (and by us I mean me and, most likely, if you are still reading a blog post from a state college writing professor, you) will spend our lives working too hard for too little. But why?

CLASS CANCELED WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2011

Rhet Comp, Wednesday, January 26, 2011

I Want My...I Want My...I Want My... Child Pornography??!!

As if being known as the creators of The Jersey Shore weren't bad enough, now MTV executives are being called child pornographers.

Journal #2 will be a response to this New York Times article about the new (by new, of course I mean an old BBC bite-off) MTV show Skins which is currently being accused of not only "crossing the lines of good taste/morality," but also illegality. Holy Snooki...that's a tough allegation!

Read the article, conduct additional research and present in your journal an argument that either agrees or disagrees with the assessment. Don't stop at the legality, though, also consider whether or not the show should be broadcast.

Guided Reading Questions for RF Chapters 1 - 3

Chapter 1

1. Why might the American be frightened by a man with a beard? (1)

2. How does the narrator know that the man is American? (2)

3. Where does the American prefer to sit in the café? What might this suggest? (2)

4. Why do you think the American doesn’t take off his jacket, even though it’s hot in the café? (3)

5. How does the narrator answer the question about what he thought of Princeton? (3)

Rhet Comp, Monday, Jan 24

All assignments due Monday. You will receive your family on Wednesday, so get excited!

READ: RF Chapters 1 & 2

Narration Chapter in text (read by Wednesday's class in case you have any questions)

WRITE: Formal Essay #1: Narrative: Write about an experience in which you became aware of "who you are." In other words, relay a story that reveals something important about you. Describe a moment that was important in shaping your identity.

Potential Ideas: A time you...

There's More!

And then there's this.

A Note from Costal to Start the Course...

This semester's reading is a beautiful novel, The Reluctant Fundementalist, by Mohsin Hamid. It is about a Pakistani man and his complicated relationship with the US. We will use it as a catalyst for becoming strong readers and writers.

The second piece, The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is the Pulitzer Prize winning novel about a Dominican nerd stuck in his own world of anti-machismo.

As college freshmen, the importance of this work comes in what it teachers us about ourselves in terms of IDENTITY. You guys are embarking on the an undoubtedly tumultous time in terms of defining, exploring and testing your identity. The reading examines the maturation process, and our constant re-evaluation of purpose and priorities. Good luck this year!

NYT's Best Books of 2010

So...get reading.